Integrated circuit devices, such as field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), may perform a wide array of functions and as such, may be employed in different systems. When used in a larger system, an integrated circuit device may communicate with other external elements (e.g., another integrated circuit device, a memory module, etc.) via a variety of input-output standards. Such a device may therefore include circuitry to support different interfaces.
As an example, an integrated circuit device that supports high definition video streams may include a serial digital interface (SDI) circuit (or other applicable interface circuitry). As is generally known, the SDI standard may be used to transfer uncompressed digital video signals. The high-definition SDI (HD-SDI) standard, for example, provides a data rate of 1.485 Gigabits per second (Gbps) via a single link. A related interface, the dual-link HD-SDI interface, provides a 2.970 Gbps data rate over a pair of interface links. More recently, the 3G-SDI standard has been introduced to transfer data at 2.970 Gbps over a single link.
Generally, the dual-link HD-SDI interface may be used to transmit signals at 720p (progressive scan or non-interlaced) resolution while the 3G-SDI interface may be used to transmit signals at 1080p resolution. However, as performance requirements increase and higher resolutions are introduced, input-output interfaces such as SDI may need to be adapted to support higher data rates. For example, in order to support ultra-high-definition video streams (4K resolution video streams with 4000 horizontal pixels or even 8K resolution with 8000 horizontal pixels), multi-link interfaces, composed of several 3G SDI links, may be needed.
As an example, in order to transmit 4K video streams at 30 frames per second (fps), two 3G-SDI links may be required. Accordingly, four 3G-SDI links are required to transmit 4K video streams at 60 fps. As higher resolutions require higher data rates, more cables or links are needed to transmit video streams at higher resolutions (4K, 8K and beyond). Such a solution is therefore both cumbersome and costly.
It is within this context that the embodiments described herein arise.